Global change impacts Earth’s systems





Many of Earth’s system’s interact at the ecosystem level


Ecosystem =


A change in just one biotic or abiotic factor can alter complex relationships and have large scale consequences

In ecosystems, abiotic and biotic processes interact



Ecosystems (and higher levels) are regulated by the flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients


Life is composed of energy and matter, which is always on the move


  • Energy from the sun powers communities, ecosystems, biomes, etc
    • Second Law of Thermodynamics
    • energy goes on a one-way trip


  • Matter, including the chemical building blocks of life, cycles around the biosphere
    • Law of Conservation of Mass

Energy from the sun flows through food webs


Global change can impact any level of energy flow


Energy flow and efficiency is partially temperature dependent!


Projected decrease in transfer efficiency is expected to lead to a 21.3% decrease in abundance of predators in marine ecosystems

Energy and matter movement are goverened by global cycles


WATER

Global change will alter most parts of the water cycle


Energy and matter movement are goverened by global cycles


NITROGEN

Why care about Nitrogen?




Nitrogen is one of the fundamental building blocks for life on Earth, especially plants


  • Nitrogen is the limiting factor in how productive plant growth can be
    • via chlorophyll and Rubisco (15%)
    • producers at bottom of food webs
    • human food security


  • Nitrogen is a primary ingredient in fertilizers

Global change will alter most parts of the nitrogen cycle


Not all the nutrients in fertilizers get absorbed by plants and the excess moves its way into rivers, lakes, oceans and groundwater as agricultural runoff

Got Nitrate?

Energy and matter movement are goverened by global cycles


CARBON

Energy and matter movement are goverened by global cycles


CARBON

Why care about carbon?


Carbon is in carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas that works to trap heat close to Earth


  • Carbon is stored deep earth, plants and oceans for potentially long time scales
    • keeps carbon out of atmosphere


  • Humans are (1) removing carbon from storage pools and (2) preventing carbon from entering storage pools
    • adds carbon to atmophere


Carbon footprint is used as shorthand for the amount of carbon being emitted by an activity or organization

Global change will alter most parts of the carbon cycle


Why does global biogeochemistry matter?





Biochemical cycles interact to regulate the biosphere, including climate →

Why does global biogeochemistry matter?





Biochemical cycles interact to regulate the biosphere, including climate →


Biogeochemistry is a foundation of biomes: living things adapted to a specific regions →


Ecosystems are the interactions with the biotic and abiotic within those regions

Biogeochemical provinces in oceans shift…


Biogeochemical provinces are dynamic entities that change their spatial extent and position with climate and are expected to be perturbated in the near future by global change

Are foundationals of biomes changing?


Does shifts in large scale systems impact humans?